Betsy Scott asked God to guide her son often during the early years, when expectations, stress and rare failure threatened to ruin everything.

Matt Scott’s mom never prayed for more playing time.

That, she said, would have been petty.

“We prayed for him not to get down on himself, and hoped that he would continue to be the person he was,” she said. “He has always been this wonderful kid. Even if he wasn’t mine, I’d tell you that.”

Scott’s improbably long, impossibly strange college football career is coming to a close. The Arizona Wildcats’ senior quarterback will be honored before Friday’s Territorial Cup showdown with Arizona State, then lead the Wildcats against their rivals at Arizona Stadium.

The 21-year-old Scott may have matured during his time in Tucson, but— to his mom’s delight — he hasn’t changed. He is still the fiery-on-the-field, friendly-off-it force that first verbally committed to former coach Mike Stoops as a 10th-grader. Though he has reason to be bitter about the way his career has progresses, Scott takes the high road.

In fact, he’s thankful.

“I’m happy it’s ending this way,” the Cats’ quarterback said after practice this week. “I’ve been through a lot. I finally got my chance to play, and I couldn’t have asked for anything more.”